Rigging for protective helmet



May 16, 196] J. A. AILEO RIGGING FOR PROTECTIVE HELMET 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 20, 1959 INVENTOR. JAC/(YQA/ A. 14 1 50 BY AUTO/605V May 16, 1961 J. A. AILEO RIGGING FOR PROTECTIVE HELMET 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 20, 1959 0 2 W 4 5 E 2? w IUM K El 0 C .1 a T MWMMZ fl/W U 3 B am I United States Patent F RIGGIN G FOR PROTECTIVE HELMET Jackson A. Aileo, 'Carbondale, Pa., assignor to Leonard P. Frieder, Great Neck, NY.

Filed Jan. 20, 1959, Ser. No. 787,917 9 Claims. (Cl. 2-3) This invention relates to safety helmets, which commonly consist of a rigid outer shell sufliciently strong to ward off blows or impacts, and a rigging for supporting the shell upon but spaced from the head of a person to be protected by the helmet.

Safety helmets of the prior art have been constructe primarily for protection against severe blows such as those which may be encountered by personnel in aircraft and other military vehicles, or by construction workers, miners and the like, where the impact is usually received from falling objects. Such helmets are made heavy and the rigging structures are commonly quite complex in order to withstand the heavy impacts which are involved.

It has been found that there is a substantial need for a light duty safety helmet which will withstand blows approximating in intensity a bump on the head which might result from walking into a low overhead obstruction. The only helmets available for such purposes have been the heavy duty type. These are commonly so large anduncomfortable to wear that workers not subject to severely dangerous conditions are inclined not to wear them where the hazard is small and the probable injury is light.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a safety helmet which is lighter and more comfortable to wear than the helmets of the prior art.

Another object is to provide such a helmet which is simpler and easier to manufacture and consequently less expensive than the safety helmets of the prior art.

A further object is to provide a safety helmet of the, type described which is nevertheless effective to protect the wearer against low and moderate intensity impacts.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are attained in the structure described herein by providing a shell similar to that of a heavy duty helmet but with a lighter and simplified rigging for supporting the shell on the wearers head. The rigging includes front and rear headband elements which are formed of stiflly flexible materiaL preferably plastic, a single headstrap of similar material attached at its ends to the centers of the front and rear headband elements and extending over the crown of the wearers head. The rigging, comprising these three principal elements is connected to the shell in the crown region thereof, and preferably at no other locality. i a

" The two headband elements are generally semicircular in contour and have their free ends projecting toward one another. Those ends are preferably connected by elastic straps.' The straps may be adjustable as to length, to change the head size adjustment. A crown pad is located on the under side of the top of the single headstrap "and a peripheral pad is located inside the periphery of the shell, between it and the headband elements.

The headstrap has an unstressed contour such that the end portions thereof. extend inwardly of the helmet so that the headband elements are supported in unstressed positions substantially closer together than their heade ngaging positions. The headstrap and the elastic straps Patented May 16, 1961 2 cooperate to bias the headband elements resiliently into engagement with the wearers head.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following specification and claims, taken together with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig. l is a bottom plan view of a safety helmet constructed in accordance with the invention, with the parts in their head-engaging positions;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the rigging assembly which comprises the three principal parts of the rigging;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line III III of Fig. 1, showing the headband elements in their unstressed positions;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken on the line IVIV of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are fragmentary cross-sectional views, similar to Fig. 3, illustrating modifications of the invention;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view, similar to a portion of Fig. 3, showing a further modification; and

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line IX IX of Fig. 8.

Referring to the drawing,'there is shown a rigid outer shell 1 having a visor 2 formed at the front edge thereof and having a peripheral bead formed by a thickening of the material of the shell. The shell is preferably a suitable rigid plastic material having, however, some stiff flexibility. The plastic material may be reinforced with glass fibers or the like.

The shell '1 is adapted to be mounted on the head of a wearer by means of a rigging assembly whose three principal elements are shown in Fig. 2, comprising a front headband element 4, a rear headband element 5 and a single headstrap 6. The headband elements 4 and 5 and the headstrap 6 are preferably made of stifily resilient material, for example, molded plastic. The ends of the headstrap 6 are attached to the central portions of the headband elements by any suitable means, such as bonding. The headband elements 4 and 5 are generally semicircular in contour and are provided near their ends with pairs of spaced slots 4a and 5a through which are threaded elastic strap members 7. The dimension of the slots 4a and 5a are made small enough so that those 7 slots frictionally receive a strap member 7 and hold it in any desired length adjustment.

The headstrap 6 is formed so that when unstressed, the headband elements 5 are supported in positions, as shown in Fig. 3, substantially closer together than the positions which they assume when engaging the wearers head. The latter positions are shown in Fig. 1.

In other words, it is necessary for a wearer putting the helmet on to spread the headband elements 4 and 5 apart. -The headband elements 4 and 5 are then held resiliently against the wearers head by the headstrap 6 cooperating with the elastic straps 7. The pressure between the headband elements -4 and 5 andthe wearers head may be adjusted for purposes of comfort by slipping the ends of the straps 7 through the slots 4a and 511 until a comfortable pressure is attained.

On the underside of the headstrap 6, there is mounted a crown pad 8 consisting of a circular pad 8a of sponge rubber or the like attached as ,by bonding to the head strap 6 and an annular pad 8b attached as by bonding to The pads 8a and 8b may be made .in two pieces, as shown, or they may alternatively be made in a single integral piece. Two different classes of materials are available for the manufactureof these pads. One of the two classes of materials is identified herein as energy absorbing materials, i.e., materials'which deform readily under compression, but return only slowly, if at all, to their original contour when the compression is removed. Examples of such materials are described in US. Patents No. 2,570,182 and No. 2,757,147. The other class of materials is identified herein as resilient materials, e.g., sponge rubber. These resilient materials return to their original contour substantially immediately upon release of compression.

Both of the pads 8a and 8b may be made of materials of either one of the two classes, or one pad may be made from one class of materials and the other pad from the other class of materials.

A peripheral pad 9 is bonded to the inside of the shell at the same level with the headband elements 4 and 5. This pad 9 is effective to absorb lateral impacts against the sides of the shell and to spread those impacts over a wide area of the headband. The pad 9 is preferably constructed of energy absorbing material.

It is possible, and may be desirable in many instances, to provide additional pads of energy absorbing material at other locations than those shown. For example, it is usually required that a person whose head has been injured or operated on wear a head covering which will protect the area of the injury from further harm. For such an individual, an energy absorbing pad would be placed opposite the locality of the injury or incision.

The rigging assembly is attached to the shell at the crown portion thereof. In the structure shown, the attachment is made by a pair of screws which extend through the shell and engage a pair of nuts 11, best seen in Fig. 4, having flanges which abut against the under side of the headstrap 6. Any equivalent mechanism for attaching the headstrap 6 to the shell 1 may be used. For example, a pair of bosses may be molded in the shell so as to project inwardly from the crown. The screws may then be threaded into holes in the bosses, so that no part of the attachment means extends through the external surface of the shell. Such an arrangement is particularly desirable in the case of electrical workers, where the shell may come into contact with a live wire. Other alternatives include the use of clips, snaps or spring clip nuts.

It is desirable that the attachment between the headband and the shell be at the crown of the helmet, and that it be spread over a substantial area of the crown, as by the two spaced screws 10. It is preferable that this attachment of the crown to the headstrap be the only mechanical connection between the shell and the rigging assembly. Such a connection makes the shell stable on the rigging, but nevertheless reduces the weight of the combined shell and rigging assembly to a minimum.

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 show three modifications of the invention in which the pad 9 of Figs. 1 and 4 is replaced by a pad 12, 13 or 14, respectively, of somewhat different structure. Note that the lower edges of the pads 12, 13, 14 are all located just above the headband elements 4 and 5. This gives the headband elements more freedom of movement than is afforded in the structure of Figs. 1 and 4, while maintaining ample protection against shocks. This greater freedom of movement allows a given helmet to be used with a somewhat greater range of head sizes. The upper edges of the pads 12, 13 and 14 are located at different levels, and illustrate three pad designs which may be used alternatively depending upon the nature of the particular hazard to which the wearer will be subjected.

The pads 13 and 14 are cut away to avoid interference with the headstraps 6. The vertical dimension of pad 12 is so short that it does not need to be similarly cut.

away.

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate a modified form of central pad which may be used to replace the pad 8 of Figs. 1 and 4. The pad 15 of Figs. 8 and 9 has a central channel formed in it to receive the headstrap 6. The pad 15 may be bonded to the headstrap 6 and to the adjacent surfaces of the shell by any suitable adhesive. The pad 15 may be made in one piece or the flanges 15a on either side of the channel may be made separately andv bonded to the main body of the pad. As in the case of the pad 8, either resilient or shock absorbing materials may be used for pad 15.

While I have shown and described certain preferred embodiments of my invention, other modifications thereof will readily occur to those skilled in the art and I therefore intend my invention to be limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A safety helmet, comprising a shell adapted to receive the head of a wearer with substantial clearance and having a crown portion to be disposed adjacent the crown of the wearers head, and rigging means for supporting said shell on but spaced from the wearers head, said rigging means comprising two separate headband elements of stiffiy resiliently flexible material having generally arcuate contours when unstressed and adapted respectively to engage the front and rear of the wearers head, and a single headstrap of stiflly resiliently flexible material attached at its ends to the centers of the headband elements and adapted to extend over the crown of the wearers head, and means connecting the central portion of the headstrap to the crown portion of the shell, said head strap supporting said headband elements for movement thereof toward and away from each other upon flexure of said head strap, said headstrap having an unstressed contour such that the end portions thereof support the headband elements substantially closer together than their respective head-engaging positions, said headstrap being resiliently flexible under stress to separate said end portions carrying said headband elements when the helmet is being worn and to bias said headband elements toward each other resiliently into engagement with the wearers head.

2. A safety hehnet as defined in claim 1, in which the free ends of the front and rear headband elements project toward each other, and including stretchable tensioning means connecting each pair of opposed free ends of the headband elements, said tensioning means being unstressed when the headband elements are in their closed together positions, and being stressed when the headband elements are moved apart to their head-engaging positions, said tensioning means cooperating when stressed with said headstrap to bias theheadband elements resiliently into engagement with the wearers head.

3. A safety helmet as defined in claim 2, including means for adjusting the unstressed lengths of the stretchable tensioning means.

4. A safety helmet as defined in claim 1, in which said means connecting said head strap to said shell comprises two spaced connections at the front and rear of the crown portion of the shell.

5. A safety helmet as defined in claim 1, including a crown pad of resilient material attached to the under side of the headstrap at the central portion thereof.

6. A safety helmet as defined in claim 1, including a shock absorbing pad extending around the inner side of the shell periphery.

7. A safety helmet, comprising a shell adapted to receive the head of a wearer with substantial clearance and having a crown portion to be disposed adjacent the crown of the wearers head, and rigging means for supporting said shell on but spaced from the wearers head, said rigging means comprising two separate headband elements having generally arcuate contours and adapted material attached at its ends to the centers of the headband elements and adapted to extend over the crown of the wearers head, and means connecting the central portion of the headstrap to the crown portion of the shell, said head strap supporting said headband elements for movement thereof toward and away from each other upon flexure of said head strap, said headstrap in unstressed condition having a contour along its length disposing said headband elements spaced apart less than the spacing required for engagement of the headband elements with the front and rear of wearers head, said headstrap being flexible from said unstressed condition against the resilient bias thereof to dispose said headband elements for engagement with and for pressing against the wearers head.

8. A safety helmet, comprising a shell adapted to receive the head of a wearer with substantial clearance and having a crown portion to be disposed adjacent the crown of the wearers head, and rigging means for supporting said shell on but spaced from the wearers head, said rigging means comprising two separate headband elements adapted respectively to extend about and to engage the front and rear of the wearers head, and a headstrap of stifily resilient material attached at its ends to the respective center parts of the headband elements and adapted to extend over the crown of the wearers head, and means connecting the central portion of the headstrap to the crown portion of said shell, said head strap supporting said headband elements for movement said head strap, said headstrap being flexible in the length thereof under stress against its resilient bias from an unstressed condition to dispose said headband elements in head engaging positions.

9. A safety helmet as defined in claim 8 in Which said means connecting the central portion of the head strap to the crown portion of said shell comprises at least one screw having a head and having a threaded shank received in at least one of registering apertures respectively in said shell and said head strap, and a nut having a body portion received in at least one of said apertures and having a flange carried by said body portion of said nut, said body portion of said nut being internally threaded to receive the threaded shank of said screw, said shell and said head strap being disposed between said head and said flange to receive the bearing of said head and said flange to secure said shell and head strap together upon relative turning movement of said head and nut.

References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,127,797 Wittcofi Aug. 23, 1938 2,264,931 Miles Dec. 2, 1941 2,342,501 Strauss Feb. 22, 1944 2,759,186 Dye Aug. 21, 1956 2,802,212 Finken Aug. 13, 1957 2,908,911 Sowle Oct. 20, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 539,577

Great Britain Mar. 12, 1941 

